Country Music Reigns Supreme

Country music is king, or at least for the week it is. Popular country music duo Sugarland beat out tween pop sensation Miley Cyrus to take control of the overall music chart in Billboard magazine. From CMT.com:
Sugarland’s new album, Love on the Inside, has become their first to top the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. It [...]

Farm Aid 2008

Farm Aid 2008 was announced today, taking place September 20 at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. This year’s show will include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, as well as other artists from the worlds of country and rock music. What is Farm Aid exactly?

Farm Aid stages America’s longest running annual concert [...]

Hall Of Fame Induction

The Country Music Hall of Fame recently held it’s annual medallion induction ceremony honoring Tom T Hall and the Statler Brothers as the newest members of the Hall. Joining the Hall in honoring these two legends were Bobby Bare and Reba McEntire who are legends themselves. Chet Flippo of CMT.com was there to catch all [...]

Del Mccoury and Friends Pay Tribute to the Struggles of Rural America

Country music can speak to the real lived problems of people in America and around the globe. One example of this trend is Del Mccoury’s recent release. Amber Waves of Twang highlights:
Del McCoury has put out a compilation project that sings about the plight of rural America. The album enlists a stellar group [...]

Variety: Documentary on Country Music Planned

Twang Nation highlights:
From Variety.com - Plans are in motion for documentarians David Leaf (The U.S. vs. John Lennon) and Morgan Neville (The Night James Brown Saved Boston) to chronicle the history of country music/ the series will be produced by Shout! Factory and Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The individual segments will be [...]

Country Music Isn’t?

The battle for the soul of country music is very much underway and has been for the last two decades:
This writer and music fan wonders where country music has gone and opines for days of old, choosing to opt for authenticity and twang of the alternative country genre rather than listen to more popular mainstream [...]

Nashville Skyline: Country Music Trends: Is the Sky Falling or Not?

Increasingly, one of my favorite columns about the state of the union of country music, is Chet Flippo’s Nashville Skyline at CMT online.
Flippo addresses these ongoing shifts in the country music genres and the larger culture with astute precision. This week’s installment
So, are my Chicken Little friends, who say the sky is falling in [...]

The Danny Dill Legacy and “The Long Black Veil” the global music classic

Dannny Dill: Country Legend and Songwriter
Danny Dill’s songwriting has had a dramatic impact on country music and the life of mainstream music as well. CMT Online highlights the life and times of Mr. Dill:
Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975, Danny Dill is one of country music’s greatest songsmiths. His tune, [...]

Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg to Duet?

In funny country music news Kasey Bell of the Country Hound points out that hip hop artist Snoop Dogg and classic country music star Willie Nelson are going to collaborate on a duet:
Willie and Snoop recently finished a new song and video in Amsterdam. There is no information yet on the title of the song. [...]

George Strait’s latest release Troubadour

Slant Magazine online has high praise for several noteworthy tracks on George Strait’s latest releaseTroubadour. For instance, the track:
…”West Texas Town,” a duet with songwriter Dean Dillon, finds Strait pulling off an excellent take on Texas Swing that favorably recalls Asleep at the Wheel. “House of Cash,” a duet with Patty Loveless, who is [...]